Behavioral Economics

Discount framing nudges people to buy things they wouldn't otherwise want.

Clear ownership of outcomes, not just tasks.

Doing something feels safer than doing nothing — even when nothing wins.

We attribute our own actions to situations but others' actions to their character.

Attacking the person rather than the argument.

The brain evolved to reason adaptively, not always truthfully, to reduce the cost of errors.

We solve problems by adding, even when subtracting would be better.

Feelings act as shortcuts for facts.

We favor people who are similar to us or who like us.

If A then B; B happened; therefore A.

What an environment offers an actor for action — handles to grip, surfaces to sit on, paths to follow.

Researchers favor conclusions aligned with their school, team, or sponsor.

We prefer known risks to unknown ones, even when the unknown is better.

The first number on the table silently sets the range for every number after it.

Pairing a sensory cue with a desired internal state until the cue reliably evokes the state.

Over-reliance on the first number that hits the table.

A single story used as proof of a general claim.

Using personal stories or isolated examples instead of evidence.

Perceiving meaningful connections in unrelated things.

It's true because authority says so.

Common sense says so, therefore it's true.

Believing something is true because of the consequences of its truth.

Substituting feeling for argument.

Using fear instead of evidence.

Claiming something is true because it hasn't been proven false (or vice versa).

If it's 'natural,' it's good.

It's better because it's newer.

Asking for a conclusion based on sympathy rather than logic.

Rejecting an argument because of dislike for the source or beneficiary.

It's right because it's how we've always done it.

Concluding that a claim is false because the argument for it is flawed.

Reasoning backward from outcomes to motives.

I can't believe it; therefore it isn't true.

n=1 generalized to n=everyone.

Saying it enough times until it sounds true.

Assuming qualities of one thing transfer to another because they are associated.

Our perception is shaped by what we selectively pay attention to.

Systematic errors in explaining the causes of behavior — yours or others'.

We overweight whoever has the bigger title in the room.

Favoring suggestions from automated systems over conflicting human judgment.

Relying on examples that come to mind easily, not on actual frequency.

A story repeats until it becomes obviously true.

We judge frequency by how easily examples come to mind.

Vastness that exceeds existing schemas dissolves the self briefly.

Contradictory evidence sometimes deepens the original belief.

Adopting beliefs because the room already did.

It's true because many believe it.

Ignoring general statistics in favor of specific, vivid information.

We ignore underlying probabilities in favor of vivid specifics.

Assuming the conclusion in the premise.

Evaluating an argument's logic based on whether you agree with the conclusion.

Beliefs survive the evidence that should have killed them.

We see bias in others more easily than in ourselves.

Systematic skew in model behavior across groups.

Spending disproportionate energy on trivial decisions.

Asking the other side to disprove an unsupported claim.

Diffused responsibility means nothing happens.

Faces and brands look more appealing in a group than individually.

People look better in groups than as individuals.

Quoting only the studies that support the position.